EDMONTON — Emergency services will reopen at the Misericordia Community Hospital at 7:30 a.m. on Friday, August 24.

The hospital’s Emergency Department was temporarily closed earlier this week, due to damage caused by a water leak within the department.

While repairs continue in some areas of the Emergency Department, a full range of emergency care will be available in unaffected areas. In addition, Covenant Health has expanded emergency care into the adjacent Day Surgery area while repairs are completed.

Day Surgery at the Misericordia has been relocated to the fifth floor temporarily to accommodate the expanded Emergency Department. There will be no impact on surgical patients.

People can access emergency care through the main Emergency Department entrance on the east side of the hospital.

Patients will continue to receive safe, quality care in both the Emergency Department and the repurposed space.

“We would like to thank people for their patience during this temporary closure, and apologize for any inconvenience this unanticipated situation has caused,” said Dr. Owen Heisler, Chief Medical Officer, Covenant Health.

“We are grateful to the teams from AHS and Covenant Health who stepped up to coordinate this effort in the emergency command centres, and to the physicians and staff for their tireless support and collaboration as we have worked to reopen this busy Emergency Department for the people that we serve.”

AHS and Covenant Health worked closely together to ensure patient care continued uninterrupted across the Edmonton Zone during this temporary closure. Staff from many different departments came together to problem solve, remediate the Emergency Department and help care for patients throughout the past several days.

“This was a challenging situation, and we would like to thank everyone across the zone involved in the response to this temporary closure. Once again, our teams showed their willingness to go above and beyond to ensure patients continued to receive the care they need, when they need it,” said Dr. David Zygun, AHS Medical Director, Edmonton Zone.

Repairs to the Emergency Department are anticipated to be fully completed within the next couple of weeks.

Anyone needing emergency care before the scheduled reopening of the Misericordia Emergency Department on Friday morning should continue to use emergency departments in the Edmonton area, including:

University of Alberta Hospital;

Royal Alexandra Hospital;

Grey Nuns Community Hospital;

Northeast Community Health Centre;

Sturgeon Community Hospital in St. Albert;

Strathcona Community Hospital in Sherwood Park;

WestView Health Centre in Stony Plain;

Fort Saskatchewan Community Hospital;

Leduc Community Hospital;

Devon General Hospital.

For non-emergencies, we are encouraging people to visit their family physician, the East Edmonton Urgent Care Centre, or the after-hours services provided by the Primary Care Networks in Edmonton’s West End, Edmonton Oliver and Edmonton West PCNs.

The Mental Health Crisis Response Team is available 24/7 by calling 780-342-7777. They are available to anybody experiencing a mental health crisis and are a valuable alternative to the emergency department.

Health Link is also available to provide health advice 24/7, by calling 811.

NOTE TO MEDIA: Covenant Health will be available to media at 2:30 p.m. today. Please meet at the emergency department parking lot of the Misericordia Community Hospital.

Alberta Health Services is the provincial health authority responsible for planning and delivering health supports and services for more than four million adults and children living in Alberta. Its mission is to provide a patient-focused, quality health system that is accessible and sustainable for all Albertans.